I'm thinking of making a couple sets of portage pads. They seem pretty simple--wood base, foam and a covering, plus mounting hardware. But which foam should I use? Is closed cell foam--the old kind used in sleeping pads--too dense? Please advise.

If I remember correctly "Superior" brand portage pads are made with at least 2 types of foam densities. I don't remember which goes where or how thick, but would guess softer against the shoulder and firmer against the wood block. I believe that the foams are also glued together too keep them from shifting.

When I have made them in the past I used two different densities of foam, softer where it contacts your shoulder then firmer against the plywood. Also remember to wrap the foam in poly to prevent it from sponging water and giving you the continual wet shoulder.

Here are the most detailed instructions I've ever seen on this site
muddyfeet used 3 layers of 2" thick synthetic batting/pillow stuffing.

I can't vouch for whether or batting is the ticket... when I did mine, I used a very dense sofa seat cushion foam, 6" thick. Turned out great when compressed to about 3 inches. I only wish I had seen muddyfeet's detailed material cutting plan (and meticulous instructions) before I started mine... that's the big improvement found here.

I have made some portage pads I have been very satisfied with. I used 2 different densities of foam. With the harder foam next to the wood. I curled the ends of the harder foam over to make the ends harder than the middle. The harder foam is ¾ inch thick and the softer foam is 4 inches thick. The softer foam is from a chair cushion.

The cover holds the total height of the pad to 4 inches. The cover is made out of scraps from a lightweight tarp made out of Dutch’s Xenon fabric. The 2 pieces of foam are glued together and spot glued to the fabric to keep everything in line.



To see the pads on a yoke go to Yoke

schweady: "
muddyfeet used 3 layers of 2" thick synthetic batting/pillow stuffing.
"

Ive made three sets of these now(for 3 different boats) and have been very pleased with the performance. One even carried a boat over the 9mile grand portage. The only update is to not center the bolts front to back. The mounting bolts should be slightly rear-ward to place more of the pad in front of the yoke.

muddyfeet: "...The only update is to not center the bolts front to back. The mounting bolts should be slightly rear-ward to place more of the pad in front of the yoke. "

Good point. It doesn't take much, but makes a big difference. The last time we rented a set from VNO, I photographed and measured them for reference. I wound up using a plywood base of 4" x 8", holes drilled 3" apart, 3-1/4" from one end and 1-3/4" from the other.

I've made my own portage yokes. And when doing so I always made my own pads.
Not anymore.
I will still make my own yoke but I just got some of these for my new yoke from Piragis. They are 30 bucks and I don't have to spend the time doing that - I can work on my canoe instead.
I don't think I could improve on these:

Mine are made from 2 types, first was 2 layers of some firm stuff that came as packing material for something, then a layer made from a pair of kneepads from a pair of pants that's relatively spongey. I covered with codura nylon.

$0 invested and they have worked out well.

I just finished three sets of pads. I used the foam out of an old boat cushion. It is firm and does not absorb water. I used two layers 1 1/2 inch for each layer, so three inches thick. They compress about 1 inch.

Like MF said, offset the holes toward the rear of the pads. Drill the holes in the plywood, run the bolt through the hole and add a T-nut. Hammer the T-nut flush and tighten the bolt.

I bought about 1 yard of brown vinyl from Walmart for the covering. The squares were about 12" x 16" for each pad. 4 x 8 pad 3" think, 3/4" plywood, 1 inch overhang to staple.

Let me know if you want pictures.

Why do the pads need to be so thick? Why do they have to be covered with fabric? I have some dense 3/4" closed-cell foam. Why couldn't I just glue a piece of it (or two) to the wood and use that? Or stack a few pieces of ensolite from an old sleeping pad?

if your shoulders are ok with it go for it.

overland: "Why do the pads need to be so thick? Why do they have to be covered with fabric? I have some dense 3/4" closed-cell foam. Why couldn't I just glue a piece of it (or two) to the wood and use that? Or stack a few pieces of ensolite from an old sleeping pad? "

Stuff that's poorly made or half-way okay at first tends to fail under the rigors of any normal paddling adventure. Yoke pads take more abuse than you'd think; lots of movement on your shoulders occurs in a few hundred rods and rubbing on bare foam might soon mean rubbing on bare wood. Some portage pad solutions are like what you suggest... sort of a horse collar of padding on the wooden yoke, but they still tend to have a covering of some sort. I can't do those: all of the weight seems to ride on my neck rather than my shoulders.

overland: "Why do the pads need to be so thick? Why do they have to be covered with fabric? I have some dense 3/4" closed-cell foam. Why couldn't I just glue a piece of it (or two) to the wood and use that? Or stack a few pieces of ensolite from an old sleeping pad? "

I was gonna add to this only because I have made a couple sets with different materials and since I’m a DIYer at heart. I was gonna add that I would recommend using different densities of closed cell foam in lieu of standard upholstery foam. It will not absorb or hold water even if your fabric wrap is not water tight. I also used marine upholstery waterproof material for coverings in lieu of vinyl since it’s much tougher. All that said, they were so expensive to make and material hard to find I have just bought the sling style and Superior Portage pads for my last 2 canoes. They all work but, I had quite a bit of trial and error with my DIY pads before I was happy. Great learning opportunity but not cost effective for me.